Wetsuit

ABSTRACT

A wetsuit is provided with knee pads. Each knee pad comprises a ring of relatively stiffer elastic material extending around the kneecap of the wearer to provide compression around the kneecap of the wearer, and a central region of relatively less stiff elastic material that rests on the kneecap of the wearer. A compression strip extending along a region corresponding to the medial collateral ligament (MCL) of the wearer may also be provided. The wetsuit may provide enhanced proprioception feedback to a wearer in the subject region of the wearer.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an improved wetsuit. The wetsuit maybeespecially suitable for use in surfing or other board sports. However,the wetsuit is generally useful in any water sport activity.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

Wetsuits are widely used in a variety of water sports. Wetsuitstypically are made from neoprene fabric, which is a flexible foam-basedmaterial. Wetsuits are used in order to keep the wearer of the wetsuitwarm during water-based activities and to provide a degree of protectionto the skin of the wearer. Wetsuits are used in, for example, surfing,diving, snorkeling, sailboarding, wake boarding, body boarding and bodysurfing.

Many commercially available wetsuits are provided with knee pads. Suchknee pads typically consist of a rectangular pad of a durable materialattached to the outside of the wetsuit in the region of the knee of thewearer. These knee pads are provided essentially to improve thedurability and wearing characteristics of the wetsuit, it beingappreciated that the knee region of wetsuits can be subject to highwear.

Proprioception is the ability to know where part of the body ispositioned without having to look at that part of the body. To give anexample, proprioception allows a person to scratch their foot withoutwatching their hand move to their foot. Proprioception is an innatehuman ability, although it will be understood that some people(especially elite sportsmen) have higher levels of proprioception thanothers.

Throughout the specification, the term “comprising” and its grammaticalequivalents shall be taken to have an inclusive meaning unless thecontext of use indicates otherwise.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a wetsuit that mayprovide enhanced proprioception to the wearer of the wetsuit around theknee region.

In a first aspect, the present invention provides a wetsuit having kneepads, each knee pad comprising a ring of relatively stiffer elasticmaterial, the ring extending around the kneecap of the wearer to providecompression around the kneecap of the wearer, and a central region ofrelatively less stiff elastic material, the central region resting onthe kneecap of the wearer.

The wetsuit of the present invention, in having a ring of relativelystiffer elastic material extending around the kneecap of the wearer andproviding compression around the kneecap of the wearer, may provideenhanced proprioception feedback to the wearer from around the kneeregion. The central region of relatively less stiff elastic materialthat rests on the kneecap of the wearer, provides enhanced flexibilityof material over the kneecap, thereby enhancing wearer comfort.

In one embodiment, the wetsuit of the present invention furthercomprises a compression strip extending along a region corresponding tothe medial collateral ligament (MCL) of the wearer. This compressionstrip may comprise a strip of additional material joined to the wetsuiton the inner side of the knee. The compression strip may comprise astrip of additional material joined to the inside of the wetsuit andextending at a slight angle along the leg of the wetsuit. Thecompression strip may be joined to the wetsuit at a position locatedlaterally to the ring of relatively stiffer elastic material. Thecompression strip may be, for example, an additional strip of neopreneattached to the inside surface of the material from which the wetsuit ismade. The compression strip may also be made from other flexible orelastic material. The compression strip may enhance proprioceptionfeedback in the region of the MCL.

In some embodiments, a strip of enhanced stiffness may be formed as orin conjunction with the strip of further material. For example, theouter surface of the wetsuit may be provided with a printed region thatincreases the stiffness of the material of the wetsuit above the stripof additional material. Alternatively, the strip of material may be madefrom a material that is relatively stiffer than the material from whichthe wetsuit is made.

In order to manufacture a wetsuit in accordance with the presentinvention, in one embodiment a leg of the wetsuit has a cutout made init, the cutout corresponding to the general shape of the knee pad, andthe knee pad subsequently joined to the wetsuit by attaching the kneepad to the cutout region. The knee pad may be attached to the cutoutregion by sewing, gluing or any other technique known to be suitable tothe person skilled in the art. In this fashion, the ring of relativelystiffer material directly contacts the knee of the wearer.

In one embodiment, the ring of relatively stiffer material includes arelatively flat outer land extending around an outer periphery of thering and a relatively flat inner land extending around the innerperiphery of the ring. The relatively flat outer and inner lands provideregions at which the ring can be conveniently joined to the wetsuitmaterial and the central region of the knee pad, respectively. The ringof material may have a thickness that increases in an inwardly radialdirection from the outer part of the ring towards and inner part of thering. The ring of material may have a maximum thickness positioned at adistance closer to the inner periphery of the ring than the outerperiphery of the ring. The thickness of the ring of material maydecrease from its maximum thickness in a direction moving from itsmaximum thickness to the inner periphery of the ring. In someembodiments, when viewed in cross section, the thickness of the materialmaking up the ring can be seen to gradually increase from the thicknessat the outer periphery towards a maximum thickness, with a relativelysteep decline in thickness from the maximum thickness to the thicknessat the inner periphery. In describing the thickness of the material, inthe regions of relatively flat landscape the inner and outer peripheryof the ring are ignored in providing that description.

Wetsuits in accordance with the present invention may provide enhancedproprioception feedback to a wearer in the subject region of the wearer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a pictorial representation of a leg of a wetsuit inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a front view of a knee pad for the right knee suitable foruse in the present invention;

FIG. 2A shows a front view of a knee pad for the left knee suitable foruse in the present invention;

FIG. 3 shows a cross sectional view through one side of the ring ofmaterial to demonstrate the thickness of the ring of material;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing the MCL compression strip suitablefor use in embodiments of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 shows a cross sectional view of the wetsuit in the region of theMCL compression strip.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

It will be appreciated that the drawings attached to the specificationshow preferred embodiments of the present invention. Therefore, theperson skilled in the art will understand that the present inventionshould not be considered to be limited solely to the features as shownin the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a pictorial representation of a part of a wetsuit inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In particular,FIG. 1 shows a pictorial representation of the right leg of the wetsuit.In FIG. 1, the wetsuit 10 has a leg portion 12 made from a neoprenematerial. The leg portion 12 extends below the knee of the wearer.Suitably, the leg portion 12 will extend to the ankle or foot of thewearer. The leg portion 12 includes a knee pad 14. The knee pad 14includes a ring 16 made from a relatively stiffer material and a centralregion 18 made from a relatively less stiff material. In one embodiment,the ring 16 may comprise a durable, heavy gauge nylon outer materiallaminated to a stiff high-density foam. An example of such a material isthat sold under the brand name Supratex™. As can be seen from FIG. 1,the ring 16 is wider at its upper portion then at its lower portion.

The central region 18 of the knee pad comprises a material of relativelylower stiffness than the material of the ring. The central region ofrelatively lower stiffness material increases flexibility and comfort ofthe knee pad. The central region may be made from a low-density,lightweight and very flexible material. An example of a suitablematerial is that material sold under the trade name Airlite G3Superflex.

As can be seen from FIG. 1, the wetsuit 10 is also provided with amedial compression strip 20. The medial compression strip may be formedby a combination of a high-density internal panel that is joined to theinside of the wetsuit and an outer printed strip positioned above theinternal panel. The printed strip may be printed from HDR (high densityresin) ink or other ink. The medial compression strip may also include adifferent layer positioned on the outside of the wetsuit. The medialcompression strip is positioned on the inner side of the leg and liesadjacent to the medial collateral ligament of wearer during use of thewetsuit. The strip may be from 130 to 200 mm in length, with a length offrom 150 to 180 mm being suitable.

The knee pad 14 may provide enhanced proprioception feedback to thewearer by virtue of the outer ring 16 providing a degree of compressionaround the kneecap of the wearer. Further, the medial compression strip20 provides slight resistance in the region of the MCL of the wearer,which may enhance sensory feedback.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic view of the knee pad shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2Ashows a similar schematic view as that shown in FIG. 2, except that FIG.2A shows a schematic view of the left knee pad. For convenience, thefeatures of FIG. 2A that are common to the features shown in FIG. 2 aredenoted by the same reference numerals.

FIG. 3 shows a cross section (taken along line A-A in FIG. 1) throughone side of the ring 16 of material. In FIG. 3, the inner periphery ofthe ring 16 is denoted by reference numeral 30 and the outer peripheryof the ring of material is denoted by the reference numeral 32. Theinner periphery 30 is surrounded by a flat land 34 of material.Similarly, the outer periphery 30 is adjacent to a flat land 36 ofmaterial. The flat lands 34 and 36 facilitate joining of the ring ofmaterial to the central panel and the material of the wetsuit,respectively.

As can also be seen from FIG. 3, the thickness of the ring of materialgradually increases from a thickness adjacent the outer periphery (asdenoted at reference numeral 38) to a maximum thickness (as denoted atreference numeral 40), with the maximum thickness of the ring ofmaterial 16 being located adjacent to the inner periphery. As can alsobe seen from FIG. 3, the thickness of the ring of material quicklydecreases from its region of maximum thickness 40 to the thickness atthe flat land 34 that surrounds the inner periphery 30. Indicativedimensions of the thickness of material may include the flat lands 34,36 having a thickness of approximately 3 mm, while the maximum thicknessat 40 may be approximately 8 mm.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic representation of the medial compression strip20 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The medial compression strip 20 may comprisea strip 50 that is joined to the inside surface of the wetsuit. Thestrip 50 may, for example, comprise a strip of neoprene material, andhaving a thickness of between 0.5 min and 2 mm, for exampleapproximately 1 mm, sewn or glued to the inside surface of the leg ofthe wetsuit. The strip of material 50 may include an S seal dot pattern52. The S dot pattern may provide enhanced sensory feedback. The S dotpattern may be formed by joining the dots onto the strip or by printingthe dots onto the strip.

A printed strip 54 may be printed on to the outer surface of the wetsuitabove the strip of material 50. The printed strip 54 may, for example,comprise a HDR ink printed strip or a Tatex layer. Tatex is a vulcanizedrubber that can be heat applied. Other materials may be used in place ofthe printed strip or the Tatex strip. The printed strip (or outer strip,if printing is not used to form this strip) may have a thickness ofbetween 0.1 and 0.5 mm, suitably around 0.3 mm. The printed strip 54generally follows the shape of the strip 50, although as shown in FIG.4, it is not essential that the shape of the printed strip 54 beidentical to the shape of the strip of material 50. Indeed, printedstrip 54 may, in addition to increasing the stiffness of the MCLcompression strip, also enhance the aesthetics of the wetsuit.

FIG. 5 shows the relative juxtaposition between the strip of material 50and the printed strip 54. In particular, in FIG. 5, the strip ofmaterial 50 is joined to the inner side of the neoprene material 60 fromwhich the wetsuit is made. The printed strip 54 is printed to the outersurface of the neoprene material 60.

In order to manufacture a wetsuit in accordance with the presentinvention, the leg portion of the wetsuit has a cutout formed on the legin the knee region thereof, which cut out generally conforms to theouter shape of the ring 16. The ring 16 is formed and the centre panel18 is joined to the ring 16. In this regard, centre panel 18 is joinedto flat land 34. The ring 16 is positioned in the cutout of the legportion and is joined to the neoprene material at the periphery of thecutout. In particular, the neoprene material is joined to the ring 16 atflat land 36. Conventional joining techniques, such as sewing or gluing(or a combination of both) may be used. The MCL compression strip isformed by joining (such as by sewing or gluing) the strip of material 50to the inner surface of the wetsuit material and printing the printedstrip 54 on the outer surface of the wetsuit material.

It will be appreciated that the steps used in the manufacture of thewetsuit may take place in any convenient order.

The wetsuit of the present invention may provide enhanced proprioceptionfeedback to the wearer of the wetsuit. In addition, the wetsuit iscomfortable to wear and does not restrict the movement of the wearer ofthe wetsuit. In contrast, in other wetsuits having knee pads or kneesupports, comfort and flexibility of the wetsuit can be significantlydecreased.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention maybe susceptible to variations and modifications other than thosespecifically described. It would be understood that the presentinvention encompasses all such variations and modifications that fallwithin its spirit and scope.

1. A wetsuit having knee pads, each knee pad comprising a ring ofrelatively stiffer elastic material, the ring extending around thekneecap of the wearer to provide compression around the kneecap of thewearer, and a central region of relatively less stiff elastic material,the central region resting on the kneecap of the wearer.
 2. A wetsuit asclaimed in claim 1 further comprising a compression strip extendingalong a region corresponding to the medial collateral ligament (MCL) ofthe wearer.
 3. A wetsuit as claimed in claim 2 wherein the compressionstrip comprises a strip of additional material joined to the wetsuit onthe inner side of the knee.
 4. A wetsuit as claimed in claim 3 whereinthe compression strip comprises a strip of additional material joined tothe inside of the wetsuit and extending at a slight angle along the legof the wetsuit.
 5. A wetsuit as claimed in claim 3 wherein thecompression strip is joined to the wetsuit at a position locatedlaterally to the ring of relatively stiffer elastic material.
 6. Awetsuit as claimed in claim 3 wherein the compression strip comprises anadditional strip of neoprene attached to an inside surface of thematerial from which the wetsuit is made.
 7. A wetsuit as claimed inclaim 3 wherein a strip of enhanced stiffness is formed as or inconjunction with the strip of additional material.
 8. A wetsuit asclaimed in claim 7 wherein an outer surface of the wetsuit is providedwith a printed region that increases the stiffness of the material ofthe wetsuit above the strip of additional material to thereby form thestrip of enhanced stiffness.
 9. A wetsuit as claimed in claim 7 whereinthe strip of enhanced stiffness is made from a material that isrelatively stiffer than the material from which the wetsuit is made. 10.A wetsuit as claimed in claim 1 wherein the ring of relatively stiffermaterial includes a relatively flat outer land extending around an outerperiphery of the ring and a relatively flat inner land extending aroundthe inner periphery of the ring.
 11. A wetsuit as claimed in claim 10wherein the ring of material has a thickness that increases in aninwardly radial direction from the outer part of the ring towards andinner part of the ring.
 12. A wetsuit as claimed in claim 10 wherein thering of material has a maximum thickness positioned at a distance closerto the inner periphery of the ring than the outer periphery of the ring.13. A wetsuit as claimed in claim 10 wherein the thickness of the ringof material decreases from its maximum thickness in a direction movingfrom its maximum thickness to the inner periphery of the ring.
 14. Awetsuit as claimed in claim 10 wherein, when viewed in cross section,the thickness of the material making up the ring of material graduallyincreases from an inner part of the outer land of relatively flatmaterial towards a maximum thickness, with a relatively steep decline inthickness from the maximum thickness to the thickness at an outer partof the relatively flat inner land.